Drawn – ScorecardThere was virtually no play on the first day owing to rain, Tasmania making 13 for two wickets. On the Saturday the pitch was in such a had condition that serious cricket was out of the question. Lumps of mud flew off the pitch whenever a ball was bowled, and a towel was eventually used to wipe the ball after every delivery.
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The fourth and final Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval was plunged into controversy on Sunday in an ugly row over ball-tampering. The tourists risked forfeiting the Test after making a tea-time protest over being docked five runs for allegedly altering the state of the ball.But just as it had seemed the match was about to restart, the Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said a fresh delay had been caused by the refusal of umpire Darrell Hair to continue standing in the match. Pakistan were docked five runs at the end of the fourth day’s 56th over which had been bowled by paceman Umar Gul.It was Gul’s 14th over with England 230 for 3 when the umpires inspected the match ball. Play was eventually called off for the day at 6.13pm local time (1713GMT) with England 298 for four in their second innings, a deficit of 33, with the future of the match still uncertain as the crisis meeting is yet to take place.As the meeting got underway at 7.30pm local time (8.30GMT), a band of journalists, including Cricinfo, were told in no uncertain terms that they must get out of the building it was taking place. The meeting will determine, among other things, whether the match goes ahead tomorrow. It is believed that Mike Procter, the two umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove, Bob Woolmer and an England representative James Avery were present. It’s not known whether Duncan Fletcher is attending.The players, meanwhile, left the ground with a police escort. As at 7.30pm, there was a strong police presence at the Oval, though it is purely precautionary – there are two policemen inside the pavilion and a line of them outside. As one policeman explained to Cricinfo, there was no information given to the crowds all day long and the bars were still open, and that combination makes for an inflammatory situation in his experience. And indeed the crowds were getting restless. “If I had bought a ticket for the day,” he added, “I wouldn’t be impressed.”The controversy began at 2.30pm local (1330GMT) when veteran Australian official Hair, standing with West Indian umpire Billy Doctrove, signalled to the scorers that five penalty runs were to be added to England’s total, taking it up to 235.Then, after an early tea had been taken because of bad light, the umpires walked back out onto the field at 4.40pm local time (1540GMT) only for no Pakistan fieldsmen to follow behind them before walking back in. Some 15 minutes later the umpires returned followed by England batsmen Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell only for the Pakistan team to remain in their dressing room.The batsmen and umpires walked back in, with Pakistan – already a losing 2-0 down in the series – in danger of forfeiting the match. Both umpires removed the bails, returned to the pavilion and the covers came on.Pakistan then appeared on the field, to boos from the crowd, at 5.25pm (1625GMT) but there were neither stumps in the pitch nor umpires. After several minutes without either Hair or Doctrove, or the England batsmen, Pakistan walked back off.The fresh delay was caused by Hair’s refusal to continue.Cricket’s Law 21.3 states clearly states “that, in the opinion of the umpires, a team refuses to play, the umpires shall award the match to the other side.” This was the first time such a five-run penalty for ball-tampering had been imposed in Test cricket, an International Cricket Council [ICC] spokesman said.Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer told AFP: “The team is upset that they have been accused of tampering with the ball and therefore ‘cheating’. “It is a no-win situation as now Darrell Hair has refused to umpire.”The PCB chairman Shahrayar Khan, who had talks with England counterpart David Morgan, insisted the reason for the continuing impasse lay at the door of the umpires. “The boys are extremely upset at the slur of ball tampering. As a result they registered a protest with the match referee for the decision unilaterally taken by the umpires.”Once we did that, we were ready to go out and play but it seems the umpires are reluctant to go out. The whole team felt very aggrieved and Inzy (Pakistan’s captain Inzamam-ul-Haq) more angered than the rest. He felt we should make a protest but once that had been registered he was perfectly prepared to go on.”We felt very deeply insulted by what was in the umpire’s report and there seems to have been no evidence given. I felt the matter had been resolved but it now seems the umpires are reluctant.”We feel it is extraordinary that we are ready to come out and the umpires say they cannot continue. It is very sad. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. I want the tour to continue,” said Shahriyar ahead of the five-match one-day between England and Pakistan.The match referee Mike Procter said talks would continue. “Following issues raised by the onfield umpires, which need to be resolved, meetings will be held between the match referee and both teams after play to determine whether any further play will be scheduled in this match.”Umpires have refused to stand in Tests before although the majority of major flashpoint incidents came in the days before the introduction of ‘neutral’ officials. Back in 1973, English umpire Arthur Fagg stayed off the field during a Test match between England and the West Indies at Edgbaston after being upset by West Indian reaction to his decision to give England’s Geoff Boycott not out, although he did later take the field.And in Dunedin in 1980 the West Indies briefly refused to take the field during a Test in protest at New Zealand official Fred Goodall.At Faisalabad in 1987, Pakistan’s Shakoor Rana refused to stand until he’d received an apology from England captain Mike Gatting after the pair had had an on-field row. Gatting scribbled an apology and the match continued.Pakistan’s 1992 tour of England was blighted by allegations of ball-tampering with pace great Waqar Younis, now Pakistan’s bowling coach, coming under intense scrutiny.And in 2000 Waqar himself received a one-match ban for ball tampering following a one-day international against South Africa in Sri Lanka while Azhar Mahmood was fined for “abetting” the infringment in the same match.The Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, ruled out of the current series with because of an ankle injury, received a reprimand in November 2002 for the same offence after a Test match against Zimbabwe in Harare.And the following year, in May, Shoaib was given a two-match ban for ball tampering after a one-day international against New Zealand in Dambulla.
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Malcolm Speed, the International Cricket Council’s chief executive, has written to the boards of India [BCCI] and Pakistan [PCB] asking for comments on reports of racism during matches this week. However, the Indian board said that it was yet to receive any letter from the ICC.”We have noted media reports of racist chanting during the India-Australia ODI in Vadodara on Thursday and also of racist abuse directed at South Africa players and team officials in Lahore,” said Speed. “In the light of those reports we have written to both the BCCI and the PCB [on Saturday] asking for their comments on the incidents.”Speed said that it was crucial to ensure “cricket remains free from the scourge of racism”. He said: “The ICC retains a zero tolerance to racism as illustrated in our Anti-Racism Code which was strengthened last year following consultation with our Members and the ICC Board. The Code outlines measures host members are expected to undertake and those measures were unanimously approved by the ICC’s Board. We need to understand whether those measures are working.”Speed said the matter of racism would be further discussed at the ICC’s board meeting in Dubai at the end of this month.Although Cricket Australia has decided to let the BCCI take action, if any, in regards to the incident that occured on the boundary towards the end of Australia’s win in Vadodara, Ricky Ponting has urged the ICC to enforce its strict anti-racism code.Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI chief administrative officer, said that the Indian board had not yet received the letter from the ICC. He also criticised Andrew Symonds for his comments in the newspapers where Symonds had said the Indian team had been treated like rock stars and princes after the ICC World Twenty20 win. “He [Symonds] need not comment on what we do,” Shetty told .
The full itinerary for the women’s quadrangular series in Chennai has been released at last. Concerns that there would not be enough rest days have been allayed with the original two-week squeeze extended to a more leisurely three.The top four teams in the women’s game – India, Australia, New Zealand and England – will take part in this competition which takes place every four years. The tournament takes place throughout late February and early March, culminating in a Final and third place play-off on March 5.Gill McConway, the ECB’s executive director of women’s cricket, said: “It’s a very exciting phase of the international touring schedule for women’s cricket. The quadrangular series was initiated in New Zealand four years ago and was such a huge success that all the teams signed up to continue with the competition every four years.”The first practice match is between England and Australia on February 18, and the tournament proper gets underway three days later, when England take on the hosts India.
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Greg Chappell, India’s under-fire coach, has been given a vote of confidence by Sharad Pawar, the board president.Chappell, whose two-year contract expires next April, has been subjected to widespread criticism in the Indian media after recent one-day reverses, but Pawar said that there “was no question of sacking him”.Pawar continued: “It’s true that the performance [against South Africa] was not up to the mark and there is tremendous scope to improve. But one should not forget it is the same team, the same captain and the same coach which had extremely good results in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.”The contract is there and there is no reason to interfere in it.”Chappell remained philosophical about the media attention. “Nobody likes being criticised and we are no different, and the boys are keen to perform to a level which would make the press and the fans back home happy,” he said. “The last few months have been frustrating because of interruptions by rain and only six of the last 13 games have been free from hold-ups.”Hopefully, from now until the next World Cup, the boys would be able to acquire as much momentum and confidence as possible.”
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Graham Thorpe has announced his retirement from international cricket. It brings an end to a 12-year England career in which he won 100 caps, the last coming against Bangladesh at Chester-le-Street in May.Thorpe, 35, missed out on a place in England’s squad for the first Ashes Test and had already made himself unavailable for the winter tours by signing a contract with New South Wales. He will continue to play for Surrey but wants to be able to spend more time with his family.”My partner is having a baby in the next couple of weeks and I have decided that I want to concentrate on my family life,” he said. “I have enjoyed my time with England and I have wished them every success in this Ashes series. I am proud to have been part of this successful era in English cricket.”David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, paid tribute to Thorpe. He said: “Graham was one of the leading players of his generation and that is reflected by the fact that he has collected 100 caps. You can judge what a feat that is by looking at the list of other players who have reached that number of appearances. He will be remembered as a tenacious batsman who served England with great ability and great pride.”Thorpe made 6744 runs in his career at an average of 44.66 and scored a century on debut against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1993. His highest score of 200 not out came against New Zealand at Christchurch in 2002.
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John Buchanan believes using Glenn McGrath at first-change gives Australia more flexibility and says the decision will not stop him from taking the new ball for the Ashes. McGrath’s slow return in India has been heavily analysed since his 2 for 36 against England on Saturday and Buchanan and Jason Gillespie were the latest to offer their support.”One-day cricket and what we’re doing here [in India] is slightly different to the Test match arena, because we’re actually working out how to play our powerplays a bit better than we have in the past,” Buchanan said in The Australian. “So by utilising Glenn in that way it gives us more flexibility, but I think the Test match arena is different to that.”I can only hand that one back to the selectors but I wouldn’t have thought it would change their thinking on his role in Test cricket.” Buchanan also said McGrath still had “a great desire to be amongst the team and to play well”.McGrath said in The Courier-Mail it was his idea to drop back to first-change for the Champions Trophy. “I’m happy with it,” he told the paper.Gillespie spoke highly of his former opening partner and remembered the 2000-01 series against West Indies when his speed dropped to the low 120kph range. McGrath collected 10 wickets and gave up only 27 runs in 33 overs in the first Test at the Gabba and grabbed a hat-trick in the next match at Perth.”We were all giving it to him, saying ‘how slow are you’,” Gillespie said in . “And he said, ‘look at the figures’. Having control and hitting good areas is what it’s all about.”Buchanan said the team had made the right decision to have McGrath in the Champions Trophy squad rather than playing for New South Wales in the Pura Cup. “That discussion was had a long time ago with the selectors and Glenn, myself and Ricky Ponting, and I don’t think we’ve changed our opinion,” Buchanan said. “The main thing is that he’s actually out playing and gaining confidence, and that’s the thing that we need to take into an Ashes series.”
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Jacques Kallis, the South Africa vice-captain, may find himself ruled out of South Africa’s second three-day tour match after aggaravating a chronic elbow injury during a practice session at the WACA ground in Perth on Sunday.A scan on Kallis’s left elbow – first injured during South Africa’s recent tour of India – showed that there was a slight tear and some inflammation of a lateral tendon. The injury has already seen Kallis sit out a tour match against Western Australia, currently being played at the WACA. Shane Jabbar, the team physiotherapist, hoped Kallis would be fit for South Africa’s three-day tour match against a Western Australian XI, starting at the University of Western Australia on December 11.Kallis’s absence meant Mark Boucher, the wicketkeeper, took over as captain for the match against Western Australia with Graeme Smith also out with an injured finger.The first Test against Australia starts at Perth on December 16.
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Once again the two captains remained tight-lipped about the composition of their respective teams when they spoke to the press ahead of the second one-day international at Mohali. Rahul Dravid, however, announced that Rudra Pratap Singh and Suresh Raina would miss out. Marvan Atapattu conceded that his team was considering making changes.The one thing the two captains agreed on was that the dew factor could play a role in the game. “That’s the talk going around,” said Atapattu. “We have to think a bit differently about the personnel we will use, and there might be a change or two. I said at the start of the series that it will be a closely battled series and India deserved the Nagpur win, we were outplayed in all departments, but are confident of getting a win here.”Dravid made it clear that India were not idly experimenting with the composition of the team or the batting order. “It’s not experimenting for the sake of it,” he said. “We carry out plans that we think will be good for a particular match, and sometimes, we have the long-term picture in mind as well. I will say we might do things differently or we might not, but our main aim is to try and win every match, and there will be no compromise in that regard.”Both sides have something to think about when it comes to the opening batting combination, and Dravid said that Virender Sehwag’s lack of form did not worry him. “He’s batting really well, looking good in the nets,” said Dravid. “I am not really concerned about his form. He is due for a big one. He made a good 70 in the one-day final in Zimbabwe not too long back and another good 70 in the Super Test. Obviously we would like him to convert his starts and he too would like to, but I strongly believe he is just one match away from a big knock.”Atapattu revealed that Sri Lanka were considering opening the batting with Kumar Sangakkara, who tackled the medium-pacers with aplomb, and used the fielding restrictions to good effect in Nagpur. “The way he batted in Nagpur, as well as in the Super Series in Australia, gives us the option of giving him the chance to open the batting.”Dravid once again had a good word for Sachin Tendulkar, who is all set to play his 350th ODI tomorrow. “It’s a phenomenal achievement and I hope he goes on to play a lot more matches,” said Dravid. “He is only 32, and I know he doesn’t place a lot of importance on numbers, but 350 games is something to be proud of.”
The figures speak for themselves. Curtly Ambrose: 27 overs 7 maidens 70 runs 4 wickets. Courtney Walsh: 27 overs 14 maidens 50 runs 4 wickets. Again, the “Old Boys” were magnificent. Again, the West Indies owe a tremendous debt to these absolutely unsinkable battleships, perhaps aging, but definitely still as dangerous, especially when given just a whiff of an advantage. With Ambrose’s dismissal of English batting hero Alex Stewart with the 2nd ball of the 3rd day, for his overnight 105, that whiff was immediately present. When Walsh bowled Marcus Trescothick off of his pads, things smelled even better for the West Indies. Even without any real help from the back-up bowlers, Ambrose and Walsh saw their team through a good 3rd day.This was enhanced even more when the West Indies openers, Sherwin Campbell and Adrian Griffith, with some panache, attitude and aptitude too, managed to defy the English fast bowling, and off spinner Robert Croft, for 96 runs, the best opening partnership so far this tour. Had Campbell not received the proverbial “unplayable” delivery, from the surprisingly quick Craig White, which Campbell actually did play, somewhat unintentionally with his bat handle, to backward point for Dominic Cork to take a brilliant running cum diving catch, the West Indies might have even closed without losing a wicket. To close at 131-1, and Adrian Griffith batting all of 3 hours 20 minutes for 41 not out, showed that the West Indies can muscle up some resolve. Only in deficit to the England lead of 146 by 15, the West Indies could look back on Day 3 as the turning point of Test 3.While England did make 303, thanks to Stewart’s 105, Marcus Trescothick’s 66 and a wonderful rear-guard effort by the late order English batsmen, after the team had slumped to 210-6 from the overnight 196-3, England should have been disappointed at the final score. 400 seemed more possible.Duncan Fletcher, England’s Coach, explained Day 3:”We played very well in the first two days, while on Day 3, we probably faltered a little bit. The first ten overs on Day 3 were crucial, and if we had gotten away with losing only one wicket in that time, we probably would have been very happy with that. The West Indies have two great fast bowlers in their team who could bowl on any surface, really, and you always have to worry that if these two guys strike, then it makes life very difficult for the batters. While it was not (Courtney) Walsh this time, as it was on the 2nd day, it was (Curtly) Ambrose who got the immediate vital wickets. We lost three wickets in that early session which set us back and then the West Indians batted well. I do not blame it on luck. They simply batted well. The openers put their heads down and grafted well. Griffith showed that he went in there very determined, did not play any loose shots and Campbell played a good innings.On Day 4, we would like to bowl the rest of the batsmen out for about an additional 10 runs, then go on to win the game. Simply, now, we have to go back in there and put on the pressure and not allow them to get too many runs. We have to restrict them to not getting too many runs and then to go and get the score. Past games have struggled to get past three days, but this has been a good wicket and the batters could get down and run some decent scores. I might have expected a bit more from the England bowlers, but it does happen a lot that when a team gets a big lead, a time to defend and a time to attack sometimes causes some confusion as the bowling team would want to get in there and get as many wickets before the close as possible. As a result of that, the team would likely leave many gaps in the field placing and the batsmen took advantage of that. Yes, I have been impressed at the way the West Indies batters have come out and showed great determination, despite the lead that England had. It was nice to see, however, that we could get to 303 and especially that the West Indies struggled to knock over the tailenders. 250 would be about the maximum we would like to chase on this wicket.”After Jimmy Adams, at the end of Day 2, had suggested that the West Indies would like to restrict the English batsmen to another 70 on the 3rd day, he nearly got his wish. England only added another 107, and that was due mainly to the lower order batting well. The West Indies had responded in the way they should have, with determination and a direct plan. To the end of Day 3, things had changed for the West Indies somewhat, much more promising.Sherwin Campbell, the West Indies vice-captain, put things into proper perspective:”Having been set a deficit, our target was just to go out there and bat for a long period, with determination, but to enjoy ourselves too, being as positive as we could be. My own dismissal (in the 2nd innings from an “exploding” delivery) does not really concern me. One or two deliveries are taking off from a length. That is good for us, in a way, as we are not batting last. I was a part of the decision making team which suggested that we bat first after winning the toss. It might still turn out to be a good decision, but having said that, there are still two days to go. Things did not go our way yesterday (Day 2), but we chose to think about the next day and we came out very positively on Day 3, kept things as tight as possible and then to get some wickets too. This is a very important Test match and we do not want to go down in this game. It was very important that we had a great rest after Day 2 and come out fresh on Day 3. That is exactly what happened. We simply came out on Day 3 very positive, ready to go and things worked out in our favor. 250 would be fairly reasonable score to defend on this pitch for the team fielding last. This game still has a very long way to go before the end. This is Test cricket, and anything can happen for the rest of the game. Adrian (Griffith) played really well, hanging in there to the end. He will still come back on Day 4 and he could get a big total. Curtly (Ambrose) bowled as well on Day 3 as he has been bowling, but he had a bit more luck this time. Things just went his way. From now on, they, hopefully, will continue to go his way. Alex Stewart’s 105 was a well put together innings. He got a good explosive start and continued on. I think it was a really good innings. We had to remove him early on the 3rd day, as we knew that as long as he remained at the crease, he would score quickly and put the pressure on us. We were glad to get that wicket, especially Stewart’s, so early.”Day 3 was probably the fulcrum of this Test match. If the West Indies could continue their batting well on Day 4 and gain an ascendancy, then England could be facing 200-250 to win the game. England would be trying desperately to get early wickets on Day 4 to restrict the lead to under 200. This Test match is turning out to be a tight rope act. A slip could be very detrimental. Day 4 promises great intrigue.